“Ben Carson, who is facing increasing scrutiny over his grasp of foreign policy, is traveling to Jordan on Friday to visit Syrian refugees, in order to gain an understanding of the pressing issue and to polish his candidacy,” the New York Times reports.
Said Carson: “I find when you have firsthand knowledge of things as opposed to secondhand, it makes a much stronger impression.”
Wonk Wire: Explaining the Syrian refugee vetting process
“Senate Republicans plan to insert a provision into a must-pass government funding bill that would vastly expand the amount of cash that political parties could spend on candidates,” multiple sources tell Politico.
“The provision, which sources say is one of a few campaign-finance related riders being discussed in closed-door negotiations over a $1.15 trillion omnibus spending package, would eliminate caps on the amount of cash that parties may spend in coordination with their candidates.”
Luis Manuel Diaz, a regional opposition leader in Venezuela, “has been shot dead at a campaign rally less than two weeks before parliamentary elections,” the BBC reports.
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New York Times: “And while Mr. Trump’s heated language on surveillance of Muslims, accepting Syrian refugees and illegal immigration is firing up his crowds, it is also drawing more protesters, resulting in physical clashes.”
“At recent Trump rallies, supporters have spit in protesters’ faces, tackled demonstrators in Miami, and shoved and punched a Black Lives Matter activist in Alabama… Mostly, he has embraced the scuffles as a new and action-packed dimension of the Donald Trump experience.”
Said Trump: “Isn’t a Trump rally much more exciting than these other ones?”
Politico: “Trump has added a new item to his growing list of presidential campaign firsts: mocking a person’s physical handicap.”
President Obama “signed legislation Wednesday that authorizes military spending and sets policies for next year, but issued a statement designed to give him leeway to circumvent provisions blocking his plans to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Politico: “Yes, it’s time to be the crazy uncle for a change. Obviously not every crazy uncle is created equal. The best kind of crazy depends who you’re sitting next to. The key thing is to identify your target, plop down in the right seat and make someone else’s Thanksgiving one for the books.”
A new Reuters poll finds Donald Trump lead the GOP presidential race nationally with 33%, followed by Ted Cruz at 21%, Ben Carson at 12%, Marco Rubio at 11% and Jeb Bush at 8%.
Matt Taibbi: “Politicians are quickly learning that they can say just about anything and get away with it. Along with vindication, apology and suffering, there now exists a fourth way forward for the politician spewing whoppers: Blame the backlash on media bias and walk away a hero.”
On my reading list: Finale: A Novel of the Reagan Years by Thomas Mallon.
Dan Balz: “Mallon is a marvelous at turning historical events into fiction. His last novel was about Richard Nixon and Watergate and was a great read. His newest, Finale, turns to Ronald Reagan for its focus. Having loved his book, Watergate, I am eager to read this one.”
Washington Post: “Most of the party’s financiers and top strategists are sitting on the sidelines. Many are reluctant to spend money against Trump after watching others fumble as they tried to handle his counterpunches. Others, citing past elections, remain confident that the race will eventually pivot away from him early next year.”
“The political network backed by the billionaire Koch brothers has no plans to take Trump on. American Crossroads, the super PAC co-founded by strategist Karl Rove, is steering clear and focusing on Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton instead. Right to Rise, the super PAC backing Jeb Bush, is not gearing up to attack Trump either. And major Republican donors such as hedge-fund manager Paul Singer and the Ricketts family have shown no interest in supporting the few organizations trying to undercut him.”
Brendan Nyhan: “It’s time for that annual American holiday tradition: awkward political conversation at the Thanksgiving dinner table. With the 2016 presidential primary campaign in full swing and public interest on the rise, the odds are good that relatives will share their thoughts with you about why one candidate will win or how another is going to destroy America. I can’t tell you how to keep your family away from sensitive topics, but here are brief answers to some frequently asked questions about current events and the 2016 race.”
David Frum: “Until he read Ann Coulter’s book this spring, Trump seemed to have been a perfectly conventional business Republican on immigration. In a 2012 interview, in fact, he blamed Romney’s loss on taking a too-tough line on the issue”
“Attacking Donald Trump as untrustworthy on stopping illegal immigration—or having super PACs do it —will stick in the craw of elected Republicans. They are, for the most part, in full agreement with the 2012-vintage Trump on the issue. But it’s their only hope. Of course, it raises the awkward but all-important question: What would they do instead to address a voter concern that until now they have ignored or disdained?”
“Congressional leaders face several hurdles to getting a budget deal done by the Dec. 11 deadline, including a fight over health funding that is holding up the omnibus spending package,” The Hill reports.
“There’s also a battle brewing over dozens of policy riders aimed at Wall Street and environmental regulations that Republicans insist should be included in the legislation but Democrats warn could lead to a government shutdown. Some Republicans also want to add language blocking President Obama’s refugee resettlement program, which would be a non-starter with Democrats, but GOP leaders are reluctant at this point to pursue that path.”
“It’s a nightmare.”
— Rosie O’Donnell, quoted by the Associated Press, on Donald Trump’s presidential campaign.
Washington Post: “Few official acts reveal more about an individual president than the Presidential Medal of Freedom designations. While the general categories have remained fairly constant since President John F. Kennedy established the modern version of the honor in 1963 — public servants, creative artists and athletes are traditionally well represented — the specific choices often pose a study in contrasts.”
“The demographic differences between Presidents Obama and George W. Bush’s honorees, for example, are quite telling. African Americans represented roughly the same portion of each man’s designations—18 percent of Obama’s, compared to 17 percent for Bush —but women have made up 36 percent of the medal’s recipients under the current president versus 15 percent during Bush’s time in office. In a similar vein, Obama has awarded the honor to a higher proportion of Hispanics, Asian Americans, Native Americans and gay and lesbian Americans than W did.”
Hillary Clinton addressed criticism of her use of the phrase “illegal immigrants” in a Facebook chat hosted by the Spanish-language television network Telemundo, Yahoo News reports.
Said Clinton: “That was a poor choice of words. As I’ve said throughout this campaign, the people at the heart of this issue are children, parents, families, DREAMers. They have names, and hopes and dreams that deserve to be respected.”
A new Quinnipiac poll in Iowa finds Hillary Clinton leading Bernie Sanders, 51% to 42%, with Martin O’Malley way back at 4%.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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